As a freelance writer, I was concerned about teaching grammar in my homeschool because, I sometimes find it difficult relaying what comes naturally. Needless to say, I was thrilled to come across IEW Fix-it Grammar to help alleviate the concerns I had about teaching grammar.
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What does the IEW Fix-It Grammar Curriculum Cover?
In the Fix-it Grammar curriculum, from IEW – Institue for Excellence in Writing – students will hunt for and correct mistakes in daily sentences (that ultimately tell a story). Fix-it Grammar, let’s your child put to use, the grammar that they’ve learned and correct an already existing sentence, so there’s never any shame or doubt in their own writing.
It’s an ingenious concept, really, because writing can be such a personal thing, and making mistakes can truly be a blow to your child’s confidence. These mistakes are already in the book, so it’s up to your child to locate them and make the corrections.
Read it, Mark it, Fix it and Rewrite it…
Your student will read a sentence each day (the entire lesson takes about 15 minutes if you don’t have a dawdler on your hands, of course. Then they will mark the mistakes using editing marks they’ve learned and that are close at hand in the Fix-it Grammar Cards.
Once they’ve marked the errors, they simply rewrite the corrected sentence, and Grammar for the day is done! It’s a four-day program so there’s no overwhelm, and the lessons are quick and painless.
How is the New Fix-it Grammar Different from Previous Versions?
The Fix-it Grammar curriculum layout is different from the previous version. In the old version, each week was laid out on one page and students had to rewrite the sentence in a separate notebook.
In the new version, each day is on its own page and there’s no need for an additional notebook because IEW added lined spaces below for your student to rewrite the sentence.
I like the new version for two reasons; it’s easy for a child – especially one who isn’t a huge fan of writing – to get overwhelmed by a lot of text on a page. Since each day is on its own page, there’s no overwhelm. There’s also no need for an additional notebook, which is great for homeschoolers like us who are always traveling or on the go.
Another thing to note in the workbooks is that Fix-It Grammar Level 1 – The Nose Tree and Fix-it Grammar Level 2 – The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse include the standard early grade, three-line primary lined paper to help students along. Levels 3 – Robin Hood and above include standard lines, with just several solid baselines.
Depending on how large your student writes, there should be enough space to write in the vocabulary word and definition on the page if you’d rather not use a separate notebook for vocabulary. We decided this year to try the Schoolnest Vocabulary Notebook in conjunction with IEW Fix-it Grammar and are still working out how we’re going to use them together.
The next difference you’ll notice between the old version and the new version is that at the top of the page, where it lists which parts of speech, punctuation, editing marks, etc… that the student is looking for, and includes a number next to it so they know how many of each item they need to find within the sentence.
In prior versions, the quantity was not shown, leaving students in the dark as to whether or not they caught everything. The new version frees up the parent too because the student can easily check to make sure they have everything without the parent or guardian having to consult the teacher’s guide. This allows the child to work a little bit more independently.
Fix-it Grammar Has Improved Upon and Expanded Its Line of Products
Another thing to note with IEW Fix-it Grammar is that they have expanded their product line. There are now additional levels; Level 1 – The Nose Tree is the first level of the curriculum and previously, level 2 was Robin Hood, which is now Level 3.
The company recognized the need for an additional level between the two and added Level 2 – The Town Mouse and Country Mouse to help students better bridge the gap.
There are also new levels for older students, so now the series looks like this:
Fix-it Grammar Level 1 – The Nose Tree
Fix-it Grammar Level 2 – The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
Fix-it Grammar Level 3 – Robin Hood
Fix-it Grammar Level 4 – Mowgli and Shere Khan
Fix-it Grammar Level 5 – Frog Prince
Fix-it Grammar Level 6 – Little Mermaid
How We’re using IEW Fix-It Grammar in Our Homeschool
I initially began reviewing Fix-it Grammar Level Three – Robin Hood, but quickly realized that it wasn’t the correct version for my son (he had worked through Level 1 – The Nose Tree previously) so I ultimately began using Level 2 – The Town Mouse and Country Mouse with him, and it was a much better fit.
My thought is that he’ll do the word and definition and then in the ‘draw the word’ section of the Schoolnest Vocabulary Notebook, he can use his new calligraphy pens to write the word since he already spends much of his free time drawing anyway, there’s no use to make drawing ‘schooley’ when it doesn’t have to be; unless of course, he comes across a word that would work well for a drawing. In which case, I’ll leave that up to him. But like I said, we’re still working out how to utilize the Schoolnest book and will come back to it in a new blog post and video in the near future.
Which IEW Fix-it Grammar Level Should I Buy?
If you’re asking yourself, which Fix-it Grammar level should I buy, there’s an easy answer!
My advice to anyone trying to figure out which IEW Fix-it Grammar curriculum to choose for their children is that they check out the IEW website, and try the program for four weeks. The company provides free lessons so you can easily determine where your child needs to be.
Click here >>> Access the free grammar lessons so you can better place your child at the level that works best.
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